A six-day Sri Lanka trip from Hyderabad, Bengaluru or Chennai costs about ₹69,000 to ₹86,000 per person in 2026, or roughly ₹1.4 to ₹1.7 lakh for two, once the flight, the land package, the entry tickets, the meals and the spending money are counted. The ETA is free for Indian passport holders as of September 2026. This guide adds up every other line at September 2026 prices, so you plan from a realistic total rather than the package price alone.
A six-day budget for two
Two people, six days, flying from South India outside the peak weeks. The saving column uses about the lowest SriLankan Airlines return fare we saw from Hyderabad or Bengaluru (Chennai was lower) and counts only the Pinnawala and Temple of the Tooth tickets; the comfortable one allows a higher fare, more tickets and more spending.
| Line | Saving, for two | Comfortable, for two |
|---|---|---|
| Return flights | ₹48,000 | ₹60,000 |
| Sri Lanka ETA | Free | Free |
| Land package, 6 days | ₹76,000 | ₹82,000 |
| Entry tickets | ₹4,000 | ₹6,000 |
| Meals not in the package | ₹6,000 | ₹12,000 |
| SIM, tuk-tuks, tips, shopping | ₹5,000 | ₹12,000 |
| Total for two | ₹1,39,000 | ₹1,72,000 |
The package lines are our 6 Days Sri Lanka Kandy Coast Getaway from ₹38,000 and 6 Days Sri Lanka Kandy Galle Bliss from ₹41,000, per person on twin sharing. The other lines are typical ranges, not quotes. Not counted: travel insurance, and GST on the package where the trip page lists it as extra.
Flights: about ₹21,000 to ₹30,000 return
SriLankan Airlines' fare pages, checked on 14 September 2026, showed lowest return economy fares of about ₹21,000 from Chennai, ₹23,300 to ₹24,400 from Bengaluru and ₹23,900 to ₹24,100 from Hyderabad, for departures from September onwards. IndiGo also flies all three routes and may be cheaper on some dates. These are recently seen fares, not live prices, so plan with ₹20,000 to ₹30,000 per person.
Fares climb in late December and early January, around the Sinhala and Tamil New Year in mid-April, and in the Indian school holidays in May and June. Flights are not part of our land packages and are quoted separately on request; airlines and flight times are on the Hyderabad, Bengaluru and Chennai pages.
Visa: the ETA is free for Indians, as of September 2026
Indian passport holders still need an Electronic Travel Authorization before arrival, but since 25 May 2026 India has been one of 40 countries whose nationals get the 30-day tourist ETA free. Apply only on the official eta.gov.lk site; other websites charge for it. The 25 May notice gives no end date and free-visa rules have changed before: if it ends, the official fee table lists the South Asian tourist ETA at US$20 online, about ₹1,900. The steps are in Sri Lanka ETA for Indians.
Stays: ₹2,000 to ₹15,000 a night, and what a package covers
At about 3.4 Sri Lankan rupees to one Indian rupee, rough planning figures for a double room are:
- Budget: ₹2,000 to ₹4,000 for a guesthouse or simple 2 to 3 star hotel in Kandy, Nuwara Eliya, Ella or Bentota.
- Mid-range: ₹5,000 to ₹10,000 for a 4-star hotel or a boutique bungalow in the tea country or on the coast.
- Luxury: ₹15,000 and up for five-star beach resorts, heritage hotels and tea-estate bungalows.
Bills usually add a service charge and taxes. The ₹38,000 Kandy Coast Getaway covers five nights in handpicked 3-star hotels in Kandy, Bentota and Colombo, breakfast and dinner, a private air-conditioned car with an English-speaking driver-guide throughout, the Kandyan dance show, a Galle and Mirissa day, the Colombo city tour and local taxes. The trip pages add ₹6,000 per person for 4-star hotels, and the 5 Days Sri Lanka Luxury Coast Retreat in the top hotel category starts at ₹48,990.
Food and getting around: ₹1,200 to ₹2,500 a day
Rice and curry, hoppers and kottu at local restaurants cost about ₹1,200 to ₹2,500 per person a day; with hotel dinners, plan ₹3,500 or more. Most of our packages include breakfast and one more meal, so you usually pay for one meal a day. Vegetarians should ask for dishes without Maldive fish, the dried tuna in many curries.
The private car and driver are in every Sri Lanka package we sell. In towns, most tuk-tuks are not metered, so agree the fare first or use a taxi app. A ride on the tea-country train costs little, but only part of the line was running in mid-2026 after Cyclone Ditwah damage near the Kandy end, so check before you build a day around it.
Entry tickets, September 2026
Many heritage sites price tickets in US dollars, converted here at about ₹95.6. Our trip pages list entry tickets as paid separately.
- Sigiriya Rock Fortress: US$35 (LKR 11,655), about ₹3,350, on the Central Cultural Fund list updated 2 September 2026. A US$20 half ticket is listed without saying who qualifies, so budget the full price.
- Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic, Kandy: LKR 2,500 for SAARC nationals including Indians, about ₹730.
- Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage: US$11.80 for a SAARC adult, about ₹1,130.
- Galle Fort: the ramparts are free to walk; the Central Cultural Fund museum in Galle is US$6, about ₹575.
Sigiriya is the ticket that changes the sums: the ₹35,000 6 Days Sri Lanka Sigiriya Dambulla Adventure ends up close to the ₹38,000 coast trip once it is paid.
Our land packages by trip length
| Trip | Package from | Whole trip per person |
|---|---|---|
| 5 Days Kandy Bentota Bliss | ₹35,000 | ₹66,000 to ₹80,000 |
| 6 Days Kandy Coast Getaway | ₹38,000 | ₹69,000 to ₹83,000 |
| 6 Days Kandy Galle Bliss | ₹41,000 | ₹72,000 to ₹86,000 |
| 7 Days Ella Hill Country Escape | ₹44,500 | ₹78,000 to ₹93,000 |
| 8 Days Yala Safari Escape | ₹51,500 | ₹85,000 to ₹1,00,000 |
The whole-trip range adds a return flight of ₹24,000 to ₹30,000 and roughly ₹7,000 to ₹18,000 for tickets, meals and spending. The Yala trip includes the jeep safari and park ticket, but Sri Lankan news reports say Yala's Blocks 1 and 2 are closed from 14 September to 15 October 2026 because of drought. The 6-day routes are laid out in the 6-day Sri Lanka itinerary.
Costs people forget, and how to bring the total down
- GST on the package, which several of our Sri Lanka trip pages list as extra; ask for the all-in figure.
- Travel insurance, which our packages do not include.
- A Dialog tourist SIM from the airport stores after customs, from LKR 1,399, about ₹400, for 20GB.
- Tips: bills usually carry a service charge, taxi drivers expect about 10 percent, and it is customary to tip your driver-guide at the end.
- Cash for tuk-tuks and small cafes. Use ATMs inside banks or hotels, and treat UPI as a back-up.
- Avoid the peak fare weeks above; Chennai had the lowest fares we saw.
- Go in February or March instead of January: just as dry, and hotels are a little easier to book.
- Decide on Sigiriya early; the Galle ramparts cost nothing.
- Eat lunch at local rice-and-curry places.
- Travel as four: one car and driver serve the group, so ask for a price for four.
Questions we are asked most
How much does a Sri Lanka trip cost from India?
About ₹69,000 to ₹86,000 per person for six days from Hyderabad, Bengaluru or Chennai in 2026, counting a return flight, a land package from ₹38,000 to ₹41,000, entry tickets, meals and spending. The ETA is free for Indians as of September 2026.
What is the cheapest Sri Lanka package from India?
Our lowest Sri Lanka prices are ₹35,000 per person on twin sharing, for the 5 Days Sri Lanka Kandy Bentota Bliss, the 5 Days Sri Lanka Bentota Beach Retreat and the 6 Days Sri Lanka Sigiriya Dambulla Adventure. They are land only: flights and entry tickets are extra.
How much is the Sigiriya ticket for Indians?
The Central Cultural Fund list updated on 2 September 2026 shows a full foreign ticket at US$35 (LKR 11,655), about ₹3,350. It also lists a US$20 half ticket without saying who qualifies, so budget for the full price.
For the month to go, read the best time to visit Sri Lanka, and if you are weighing it against a trip at home, Sri Lanka or Kerala. For the trip itself, compare the routes on the Sri Lanka tour packages page and ask for a quote with your dates and city; flights are quoted separately on request, so you see the whole cost before you book.
